Get your friends to vote

If you’re reading this you probably already know Measure S is a disaster. The Yes campaign is counting on very few voters showing up so they can sneak this thing through, and unfortunately March elections get notoriously low turnout. The good news is we know exactly what we need to do – and it’s not hard. All we have to do is get our friends to show up! Here’s how:

Make a list of at least 20 of your friends in LA (more if you feel like it!)

Invite your friends to vote No on S on Facebook:

Sample emails:

Email option 1 – keep LA’s revitalization on track

If you’re like me, you’re probably disappointed with the outcome of the November election and are fed up with politics. It’s going to be a loooong four years.

If we want to make sure we avoid a similar mistake here in LA, we’ve gotta get out to the polls for our next local election on March 7. We’ll choose our next mayor, half the city council, and school board members. There’s also two ballot measures proposing regulations on cannabis dispensaries.

But here’s the scary one: we’ll also be voting on a critical ballot measure – Measure S – that has the potential to permanently alter how the city grows. If passed, it would stop the revitalization of LA in its tracks and attempt to go back to a time when Los Angeles was a smoggy, segregated suburban sprawl.

Now, with Measure S, they want to stop the city from building transit-oriented housing. They also oppose building affordable housing in their neighborhoods, and would prefer that young and working class people drive for hours to and from work.

Knowing that fewer people vote in off-cycle elections, they decided to do an end-run around the city’s youth by placing Measure S on the March ballot so it has a better chance of passing with only them and their NIMBY neighbors showing up at the polls. That’s right: they are counting on you NOT voting.

Let’s prove them wrong.

Will you help me stop Measure S? You don’t even have to leave the house if you don’t want to! Here’s the process:

Thanks for taking these two minutes to help make LA a more inclusive, fair and vibrant city!

Please share this message with your friends so we can show them that they can’t sneak a terrible ballot measure past us!

Email option 2 – Importance of voting

Did you know that, of the 200 million registered, eligible voters in America, 97 million didn’t bother to vote in the 2016 election? How did that turn out? Not good, I’d say.

Do you want a similar disastrous outcome for our civic election on March 7?

I know I don’t. That’s why I have already mailed in my ballot, choosing to vote No on Measure S, a ballot measure designed by wealthy white boomers to “protect” LA from mass transit and affordable housing.

There’s a whole host of reasons why Measure S is bad for LA; most importantly it’ll drive up rents, worsen traffic, and kill tons of jobs – you can read the full scoop here.

Once you’ve done that, please share this message with your friends who also hate long commutes and segregated communities.

Email option 3 – pledge to vote

After witnessing the regrettable outcome when almost half of eligible voters in America neglected to vote in November 2016, I promised myself I would never take my right to vote for granted ever again.

Fortunately, it’s practically effortless to vote in the upcoming Los Angeles County election on March 7.

I pledged to myself, my peers and to future generations that I will honor the responsibility that comes with citizenship – will you join me in that pledge?

The stakes for the March 7 election are high: The ballot contains an egregious ballot measure called Measure S, which has been proposed by wealthy homeowners who don’t want trains and affordable housing in their neighborhood. They’ve got $ millions to spend on TV ads and billboards and they’re counting on people like YOU not voting. People who take the train, or commute long distances to save on rent.

I have pledged to no longer let people who don’t like me and my kind deciding the rules for how our government is run. We lost the race on the national scale, but there is still time to have your voice heard on the county scale.

Please join me in pledging to vote, and encourage your friends, too. The stakes are high (and the rent is too)!

Email 4 – reminder email

Hey!

Just checking in to see if you have registered to vote and have sent in your mail-in ballot or are planning to vote in person on March 7. There’s still time – you have until February 20th to register if you haven’t already. You can do it here, and you can request a vote by mail ballot here until February 28th.

I don’t want to sound alarmist, but the future of LA is at stake. Measure S, if passed, will stop the development of transit-oriented housing, forcing Angelenos onto clogged freeways instead of jumping on the Metro. Its an attempt to re-segregate LA and starve Metro of ridership, so they can lobby for more parking and freeway lanes. LA will turn back into a smoggy, congested suburban sprawl.

The backers of Measure S are counting on you not voting. So, if you haven’t done so, please register to vote by mail and prove them wrong.

Please share this message with your friends who share a vision of a vibrant, progressive city that supports active transportation and transit-oriented development.

Sample direct messages for social media:

Option 1: Pledge to vote

Hi! After the disastrous election outcome in November, I pledged to no longer neglect my civic duty to stay informed and vote. In March, Angelenos will be voting on Measure S, an LA Charter amendment that would prevent the construction of thousands of affordable housing units, causing rents to rise.

About Us

Abundant Housing LA is committed to advocating for more housing. We want lower rents and a more sustainable and prosperous region, where everyone has more choices of where to live and how to pursue their dreams.